


Hiraeth

by akaatsuki



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, I love these soft boys, like. REALLY soft, rei being REALLY soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 09:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akaatsuki/pseuds/akaatsuki
Summary: “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Koga grumbles, kicking at a stray rock with the tip of his boot, scowling. “You called a taxi, didn’t you? They better get here soon. It’s fuckin’cold.”As if to comply with Koga’s threat, one of the many black cabs currently picking up people leaving the airport pulls close to their place on the sidewalk. Kaoru huffs his gratitude beneath his breath, and Koga manages to bite his tongue as he scrutinizes the vehicle, all while Adonis simply stares in piqued curiosity. Rei chuckles beneath his breath, slipping his hands into his pockets as he turns on his heels to face the rest of his unit, a calm smile resting upon his thin lips.“Welcome toLondon,boys.”





	Hiraeth

**Author's Note:**

> in which rei brings the rest of UNDEAD to london for spring break, and finds something that he thought he'd lost long ago.

“It’s fuckin’ _ cold. _ ” 

The air is damp and the sun is well-hidden behind a sea of gray clouds, and as they finally walk out of the airport, the atmosphere doesn’t seem at  _ all _ like a very special welcome to what is the first time that half of their group has been out of the country. If anything, it seems as though it’s going to start pouring down rain at any moment, and if _ that  _ happens, it’ll _ really  _ be an experience to remember. 

“I mentioned that, didn’t I?” Rei chimes, unfazed by the change of weather as he flashes an amused smirk in Koga’s direction. “You’re quite lucky that you listened to me and wore a nice sweater, though, Doggie. Without it, you’d  _ really _ be howling, hm? This area has quite the wind chill during the early springtime, so you’ll rarely be taking it off.” 

“I would’ve rather gone to Hawaii,” Kaoru bemoans, hugging himself tightly around his sweater, an indignant pout playing upon his lips. “I wanted to  _ escape _ the cold…plus, it would’ve been so _ nice  _ to relax on a beach…ah, thinking of all the cute girls I’m missing is making me super depressed…”  

Rei chuckles at the complaining, turning to the last member of UNDEAD to see if there were any further whines before he moved onto another topic, but Adonis stands silent, chin lifted and eyes closed, hands tucked neatly into the pockets of his hoodie. 

“…Something smells good,” he states simply, and Rei marvels at the fact that the other must have as keen a sense of smell as Koga if he were to catch that so quickly. Or, perhaps, it was simply that Adonis had become an expert at discerning the smell of meat above the smell of wet pavement and fresh wind. 

“Hah?” Koga cocks a brow, taking a whiff himself and knitting his brows together in thought, as if trying to determine what it was. “He’s right. We haven’t eaten a good meal since we got on that goddamned plane, and airplane food fuckin _ ’ sucks. _ Adonis, let’s ditch our senpais and go get somethin’ to eat. I’m fuckin’  _ starvin’. _ ” 

“Oh, Doggie, don’t be so _ mean, _ ” Rei laments, placing a sprawled hand upon his chest as if to signify his offense at the remark. “I’ve already planned a ride for us, alright? You just have to be patient. We’ll go and get something to eat before we arrive at the hotel, so don’t go running off on your own.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Koga grumbles, kicking at a stray rock with the tip of his boot, scowling. “You called a taxi, didn’t you? They better get here soon. It’s fuckin’  _ cold. _ ” 

As if to comply with Koga’s threat, one of the many black cabs currently picking up people leaving the airport pulls close to their place on the sidewalk. Kaoru huffs his gratitude beneath his breath, and Koga manages to bite his tongue as he scrutinizes the vehicle, all while Adonis simply stares in piqued curiosity. Rei chuckles beneath his breath, slipping his hands into his pockets as he turns on his heels to face the rest of his unit, a calm smile resting upon his thin lips. 

“Welcome to  _ London, _ boys.” 

… 

Koga is the first to climb out of the back seat of the cab, taking care to hop over the large puddle at his feet and immediately beginning to stretch out his legs, even if the ride was  _ hardly  _ that long. Adonis, as expected, directs his attention entirely to the enticing smell of the restaurant, while Kaoru busies himself by scanning the sidewalk at the people walking past. Rei tips the driver before he emerges from the passenger seat, a certain nostalgic glint in his eyes as he gazes upon the building, smiling warmly. 

“Ahh, I haven’t been here in so long,” he sighs, stepping forward as he beckons the other three to follow, “I’m sure that you three will enjoy it, though. It may be a bit noisy, but the people are most definitely friendly. You probably shouldn’t get too used to that, though; the streets are rather merciless here.” 

Koga scoffs at the warning as Rei opens the door, and the four of them shuffle through the narrow frame. The wall of warm air hits them immediately, as well as the loud, buzzing atmosphere that had been drastically muffled when they had been standing outside. The air is filled with the aroma of both delicious food and alcohol, the source evident by the large bar located at the center of the room, where every last stool is occupied by a rosy-cheeked person. Rei has to stifle a laugh when he sees Adonis’s eyes light up as a waitress passes by, two trays of divine-looking meals resting upon her open palms. 

“Oh my _ God, _ ” comes a voice from nearby, and both Rei and the rest of his company turns their heads to the source: a young, blond woman with bright green eyes, widened in surprise. “Rei, is that  _ you!? _ Look at you! You look five years older!  _ God,  _ Meredith’s going to  _ lose her shit _ when she sees you!” 

Rei laughs, walking closer to the podium-like structure in which she is leaned over, clicking her pen absently as her elbows rest upon the open binder of reservations.

“Yes, yes, I know. It’s only been about a  year, though, hasn’t it? Have I really changed that much? You certainly haven’t aged a day, I see…”

At this, the woman laughs, soft and melodious against the roar of conversation within the restaurant. Leaning over the binder, she takes Rei’s face in her hands and gives him a quick peck upon his cheek, taking care to tousle his hair with a hand before she pulls back. Koga cracks a smirk at how Kaoru’s jaw drops at this, while Adonis is clearly still stuck on trying to decipher the English while separating it from the rest of the conversations within earshot. 

“You’re such a  _ lady-killer, _ Rei,” she teases, handing him a stack of menus. “I’ve _ seriously  _ missed having you around. Take whichever seat you’d like, baby.” 

“Sakuma-san,  _ no way, _ ” Kaoru gapes, staring at the other incredulously, “you’re a total chick magnet, aren’t you!? I can’t believe this! You were  _ totally _ lying about being gay, weren’t you!? This is the  _ ultimate _ betrayal!” 

“Ooh, Kaoru-kun, don’t accuse me of such a crime!” Rei protests dramatically, already beginning to lead them past the entrance and further into the diner, “no, no, I am still _ very _ homosexual. Haven’t you ever seen two people being close friends before?” 

“I’ _ d seriously _ kill someone if it meant I could get a girl that cute to kiss me and call me a cute pet name just for being a  _ friend, _ ” he whines, “this is _ so _ unfair…” 

“You seem popular, Sakuma-senpai,” Adonis observes bluntly as he glances at the staring people, watching as several waitresses take care to warmly greet Rei as they walk by, “this must be ‘home’ for you.” 

Rei contemplates this for a moment, slipping into his seat in one of the booths besides Adonis. Truthfully, he didn’t  _ have _ a home; there was no place where he could truly feel as though he belonged after his parents had booted him from the house. However, _ especially _ after being away for so long, stepping back into this environment felt nostalgically similar to swinging the front door of his house open when he was much younger, when his parents still  _ wanted _ him around. Having so many people now greet him with bright smiles and eager voices certainly  _ did _ feel like a positive change, as if people actually  _ cared _ about him, and he notes that  _ yes, this place is  _ definitely  _ the closest I’ve  _ ever _ been to home.  _

“Here,” he speaks cheerfully, handing each of the three a menu, “order anything you’d like; no need to worry about prices. If you need help translating anything, just let me know, alright?” 

Adonis’s eyes lighten at this, bowing his head in gratitude while Koga simply sneers as he flips open the menu and scans the contents within. Kaoru, occupied with observing the passing waitresses, taps his fingers absently upon the opened menu. Several minutes pass as Adonis leans towards Koga to obtain assistance in translating the different selections of meat, while Kaoru relentlessly inquires Rei about the characteristics of the girls inhabiting London. 

This, Rei realizes, is an almost ethereal moment; scarlet irises rest upon the way Adonis gazes in curiosity at the menu as Koga explains what each meal contains. Koga has always loved being able to teach other people, for even if he feverently denied such a thing, he would always, without fail, leap at the opportunity to educate Adonis on anything that he did not understand. Kaoru is in the middle of a sentence, now, and Rei feels a small pang of guilt for not tuning in at all, for he is too caught-up in savoring that brilliant smile, that bright light in Kaoru’s eyes as he goes on and on about his dreams of meeting girls. 

Though it is a simple, relaxing few minutes, Rei can’t help but relish every last moment. He can’t quite remember the last time he felt so at ease, as if the outside world didn’t matter, and he could stay in this warm, hospital environment forever, forever protecting these three. Kaoru must have strayed from his topic, as Rei’s eyes catch Koga giving him an aggressive whack on his shoulder, barking something that, again, he does not quite catch while lost within his thoughts. Together so casually like this, it feels as if perhaps he really  _ is _ home; perhaps, even, anywhere that  _ they are _ is home. 

_ Yes,  _ he thinks to himself fondly,  _ I want you all to stay like this forever. Please, never grow up.  _

“Oh, Rei!”

A loud, abrupt cry finally manages to pull him out of his mind, and he turns his head along with the rest of his unit to see a woman quickly approaching their table. She’s short, stout, and no older than fifty, brown hair framing her face and slight wrinkles adorning the corners of her eyes as she smiles brightly. As soon as she reaches the table, she wastes no time in throwing her arms around Rei, pressing him snugly against her chest as she hugs him tightly. 

“Oh, Rei, my baby! Welcome back! Oh, look at you, you’ve grown so much! I thought your growth spurts were over…!” 

He laughs against her, knowing well that Adonis, Koga, and Kaoru must be staring. Of course, he’d purposely chosen this restaurant because of its memories and  _ especially _ because of the people he knew would be there, but also, a small part of him wished dearly to let the rest of UNDEAD into his life. He’d always been rather closed-off about his past, specifically about his time in London, but now that they’re actually here with him, it feels much different. Somehow, against all odds, Rei has managed to find himself feeling comfortable with allowing his companions to catch a glimpse of the person he once was. And, though he expected such a thing to be far more nerve-wracking, he finds a huge weight beginning to lift off of his weary shoulders. 

“It’s good to see you, Meredith,” he smiles fondly, “it’s been quite a while. How are you doing?” 

Releasing him, she tousles his hair with a hand as she replies, “wonderful, wonderful! How is school going, dear? You’re still graduating, aren’t you?” 

“Yes, yes, of course. We have a vacation for the springtime at the moment, actually, so I brought a few friends with me.” 

At this, the woman’s eyes brighten with joy, and she quickly directs her attention to the other three students seated in the booth, examining them eagerly. Rei bites his tongue to suppress his laugh as he watches the tips of Koga’s ears turn red with sudden embarrassment, and he clears his throat to speak again.

“Meredith, this is Kaoru, Adonis, and Koga,” he motions, “they are all members of my ‘unit,’ and I assure you, they are all very sweet boys.” 

A series of generic greetings are exchanged between them, and, delighted, she draws a notepad from the pocket of her apron and a pen from where it was tucked behind her ear, inquiring, “let’s start you off with some drinks, shall we?” 

Koga, unsurprisingly, orders a soda, while Adonis simply requests water. Rei, noticing Kaoru’s examination of the menu once more, smiles wryly as he extends a hand to tap his index finger upon the open page. The other raises his eyes from where they had been plastered upon the menu, curious. 

“One thing that I love more than  _ anything  _ about London,” Rei declares, “is the drinking age.  _ Viva la vida,  _ Kaoru-kun.” 

Kaoru can’t stop himself from laughing at this, Koga muttering something inaudible beneath his breath while Adonis simply looks lost.

“Alright, then, I’m going to try one of these martinis,” he announces, glancing at Rei, “I’ve always wanted to try one. Are they any good, Sakuma-san?”

“ _ Fantastic, _ ” Rei hums, before ordering a variation of his own. “Ah, Adonis-kun, Doggie, don’t copy your the behavior of your senpai, alright? It is very important to wait until you are old enough to consume alcohol.” 

The waitress laughs loudly at Rei’s statement, shaking her head in amusement before turning to head off. 

… 

“Ho~oly shit.” 

The double doors have been swung open, and Kaoru stands tall in the doorway, looking into the large room with wide eyes. The room consists of two king-sized beds as well as other luxury items---a plush couch, coffee tables and chairs, a flat-screened television, a mini refrigerator---all fitting the overall aesthetic of the room. There are large windows against the wall with a view of the streets below and the sea of tall buildings, accented with long curtains that are pulled out of the way, though the light pouring into the room is dull and scarce due to the cloudy weather of London. The room itself is quite grand, far more than any of them could have anticipated Rei to have booked. 

“Holy _ shit, _ ” Kaoru gawks once more, stepping forward and into the room as his gaze travels from one corner of the room to another, “Sakuma-san, whose dick did you have to suck to  _ get _ this place?”

“Uu, Kaoru-kun, that was a little mean, wasn’t it?” Rei pouts dramatically, slipping the key card into his coat pocket and gliding into the room. Almost immediately, he flops down half-heartedly upon one of the soft beds.

“I know a lot of people here, so I have some connections; that’s all. Ahh, come and lie down on these beds, won’t you? They’re very soft…” 

Kaoru, rolling his eyes at Rei’s expected behavior, complies and lies down on the free bed, curling up and sighing blissfully. Koga opens the refrigerator and takes out one of the provided sodas, while Adonis simply looks around the suite in curiosity. Approaching the large windows, Adonis gazes down at the streets below, observant eyes shining with newfound interest. 

“London is different,” he states simply, resting a hand upon the glass and watching the passing cars. 

“Yes,” Rei replies after a moment with a nod, looking up at the ceiling in reminiscence, “I suppose it is. It certainly feels strange to be back here.” 

_ Strange,  _ he thinks,  _ but not unpleasant.  _ There is a new sort of feeling when he knows that they are by his side; the crushing loneliness that he remembers harboring in his chest when he’d studied abroad is void now. Somehow, he feels at ease now; he, who used to be inwardly fearful of sharing his unpleasant past experiences with others, now feels a certain comfort in knowing that he has brought the rest of his unit with him to the very place he’d wished to escape. After living so long with the certainty that Ritsu was his only family, he finds himself realizing how that has been changing over the past year. He finds that, somehow, in returning to the place where he was once at his worst, he somehow feels to be better than ever.

After all, if he ignored his past experiences there, he truly did enjoy London as a city, with its cloudy skies and temperate weather that treated him so well. 

“Make sure that you all try to get enough sleep tonight,” Rei breaks the peaceful silence as he curls further against the comforter of the bed, “you should be able to work through the jet lag if you go to bed earlier and get a good rest. We have much to do tomorrow, yes?” 

Smiling at their replies, Rei moves up to rest his head on one of the pillows, sighing contently at the plushness of it and allowing his eyelids to flutter shut. Surprisingly, even though he expected to be up quite late tonight, he already feels drowsy and sluggish, as if he were being weighed down to the bed. However, it is a rather pleasant feeling; even if his energy feels depleted, a calm fluttering within his mind and his chest bring a comfort. 

Rei finds his mind amiably occupied with thoughts of the coming day, and recognizes a foreign feeling of looking  _ forward  _ to waking up. For a moment, he attempts to recall the last time in which he had felt so kindly about being awoken from his slumber, and finds the memory too hazy to pinpoint. Unsure of how to even begin to describe such a relief, he decides that perhaps he should leave that kind of thinking for when he is more awake. In the moment, he simply rejoices in the warmth of being able to fall asleep so peacefully, with no lingering dread nor regret weighing upon his chest. 

“Hold on,” Koga snarls, bringing Rei back to reality for just a moment longer, “Adonis, why the hell are you goin’ with Hakaze…-senpai!? You don’t seriously expect me to sleep with that vampire bastard, do you!?”   


Rei laughs under his breath as Kaoru teases Koga, and knows for a certainty that he could have no better group to call a family. 

**Author's Note:**

> yes, this will have another chapter. i love my soft boys sm. 
> 
> trust me, they will only get softer. 
> 
> kudos + comments appreciated! ♥


End file.
